Cleveland had the second-highest ratings of an XFL game this weekend. (Football Stadium Digest)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from all over the world of football …
1.One weekend does not equal 100 years, but there were times I viewed the XFL games and honestly couldn’t tell the difference between Tampa Bay Vipers v. New York Guardians and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants. Come to think of it, the differences were positive. I like every one of the XFL’s innovative rules. You’ll see the copycat NFL adopt some of them real soon.
2.If you accept the fact that pro football is nothing more than television programming and will soon become primarily a gambling pastime, I believe the XFL will not only survive but thrive.
3.According to ESPNPR, Cleveland was the No. 2 TV market for the Seattle Dragons v. D.C. Defenders game (QB Cardale Jones). All of which leads me to wonder what would happen if the XFL expanded to Cleveland. I’d love to see a start-up operation show it’s not as difficult as the Haslam Browns have made it the past eight years.
4.When the Rams departed Cleveland for Los Angeles in 1946, they were never missed for a single day because of the excitement surrounding a team run by Paul Brown in an upstart league. The Rams won the NFL championship in Cleveland in 1945 and were never missed! What if … Bernie Kosar took control of a team in the XFL called the Cleveland Bulldogs?
5.Since 2002, the NFL has had perfect symmetry with 32 teams split into eight four-team divisions, each playing 16 games. The schedule formula and the playoff system of six teams per conference is the most logical in all of sports. Expanding to 17 games and a seventh playoff team over time may be what kills the goose that lays the golden eggs.
6.I don’t agree with Deion Sanders’ recent take that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has become too lenient and is admitting too many each year into the Canton shrine. But I do agree with the sentiment inside the Hall’s selection committee that we have weakened the standards for a “first-ballot Hall of Famer.” Forty percent of all first-ballot HofFers have been elected since 2000. The consequence of such haste is that deserving players keep getting passed over and have to fight for the dwindling spots after the first-balloters.
7.Anyone who tries to handicap the success of Browns coach Kevin Stefanski by the coaching staff he assembles is kidding himself. The list of Browns assistant coaches over the years includes some fabulously impressive names – Kyle Shanahan, Norv Turner, Todd Haley, Gregg Williams, Todd Monken, Brad Childress, Dick Jauron, Brian Daboll, Brad Seely, Matt Eberflus, Anthony Lynn, etc. None of those quality coaches experienced a winning season in Cleveland. So excuse me for not getting excited about the latest batch, although Stefanski seems to have done a decent job.